Chapter 1

June, Six Months Ago

Driving through busy Miami traffic is an everyday occurrence. The key to surviving it is to have your best music playing, your favorite non-alcoholic beverage, your bluetooth on, and a sense of zen. Doesn't matter that I left work an hour earlier than usual, the congestion is always present.

I will get through this. I will get through this. And someday, I will move the hell out of here.

Bikini-clad bodies and some not-so-clad bodies line the sidewalks that run along the beach, which accounts for a lot of the backup. Men in their sports cars getting an eyeful before going home to a wife that maybe doesn't quite live up to the beauty of the young girls flaunting their wares and waving at said men in sports cars as they walk across the street.

Today my mantra isn't working so well, anxious as I am to get home and show Carmen the gift I have for her - a crisp, white envelope tied with a silvery-blue bow. I know she'll be as excited as I am, it's something we've discussed but never acted on.

A week in Aspen with my family, Christmas Eve through New Year's Day. Snow. Skiing. Frostbite. Hot cocoa. And hopefully sex on a bear skin rug.

I really want to wait until her birthday in October to give them to her, or ideally the week before Christmas as I've already cleared the time off with her boss, but I'm too eager. It's been years since I've been with my whole family at Christmas and getting out of Miami to be somewhere cold couldn't be more appealing. I feel like a little kid, dreaming of sleds and mittens and fireplaces burning brightly while sugar-plums dance in my head.

Turning into the drive of our stucco-covered townhouse, I'm not surprised to see her convertible parked in her spot. Most times she beats me home, my schedule as a clinical pathologist at Jackson Memorial being less structured and dominated by crazy while her secretarial position rarely veers into overtime.

I grab the envelope and leave my messenger bag in the car, too anxious to share the gift I've bought as much for her as for me to lug it inside. I envision her face, alight with happiness and love as she looks at the airline tickets. In the four years we've been together, we've never spent Christmas away from Miami before. We'll be away from her parents, and I hope she's still okay with it. My sister's recent engagement is a perfect excuse to finally visit her in Colorado, and my whole family jumped at the chance. We'll all be together for the holidays for the first time in years since everyone but me has left the Sunshine State.

"Carmen!" I yell as soon as I open the oak door, the cold air-conditioning inside hitting my face and making me shiver. She's probably been home awhile if the air is this cold. Yelling up the stairs again, I hear music and assume she's using her treadmill. Her habit of getting lost in Rihanna as she runs is something that irks me when I'm trying to catch up on reports I've brought home. I even bought her a nice set of earphones to use, but she insists she can't run with them on.

Fixing the bow on the envelope, I leap up the stairs two at a time, my grin growing as I get closer to the second floor. The music is leaking through the closed door, and I smile, thinking about how hot my girlfriend looks in her running clothes, imagining how she's about to press her sweaty body to mine, where we'll ultimately end up in the shower, her mouth thanking me for our holiday plans.

I turn the knob and press softly, wanting the element of surprise so I can watch her tits jiggle a bit before letting my presence known.

I'm not disappointed. There they are… jiggling.

But not with the energy of her feet making time on the treadmill. No, they're jiggling with the energy of some asshole plowing into her from behind. On my bed.

Merry fucking Christmas to me.

Hey everyone!

Welcome to my new story, a (hopefully) fun little ditty for the holidays. It's my Christmas present to you, to thank you all for the love and support you've shown me these last few years.

I have to thank Ceci (lolypop82) for putting the banner together with basically no information or help from me except for the title. She nailed it perfectly.

My two best girls, CarrieZM and Layathomemom, are rock stars and basically worked their butts off on this despite having their own Christmas things to do. It's a tough season to find any spare time to accomplish all we need to around the holidays, but somehow, these two made sure they gave this as much love and attention as they possibly could.

So any mistakes you find are all mine, wholly and completely.

I hope you enjoy!